Harry Potter and the Voice of an Angel Chapters1-9
by Aphra
Summary: AKA A Muggle Girl in Hogwarts, I accidently deleted it and uploaded it under a different name. Please R & R.


Aphra's Note: Keep in mind taht this is my first fic. It was mostly a dream that I had the other night with added dialog and plot,. and no matter how gay that was, PLEASE be kind, if it's stupid, just say so(please no evil cursy flaming), it would help if you would tell me why it was stupid, so I could mend it up. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Oh yeah, Incase yeh didn't know, I don't own Harry potter and his friends except Gwen. Please Rate. 

Chapter One - A Runaway Muggle. 

A pretty young muggle girl of fifteen sat on her bed holding a pen and paper. She swept through her long glossy dirty-blond hair with her bruised arm. Nervously, she began writing: 

Mum and Dad, 

If you bother to make sure that I'm in my room sometime soon, I'd like you to know that I'm leaving here. I love you, but I just don't feel safe here. Three times just this week I've suffered the pain of your beatings. I know that I may have deserved it, after all, I did forget to bring home the paper and forget to do the dishes, but I don't really like to go to places everyday with horrible cuts and bruises all over me. Goodbye, Gwen 

"There that should do it," thought Gwendolyn Stevenson. 

Gwen was a thin girl of medium height, with glowing, snow-white skin. Her warm blue eyes were staring at her horrible new bruise on the left arm. "Ugh," she said, as she bandaged it up. 'Well I suppose it's time to get out of here,' she though. She grabbed her backpack, which contained a small bit of food (SlimJims and Toffee cakes), sixty-five (muggle) dollars that she'd managed to save up, her first aid kit, and some spare outfits. It was the afternoon, but Gwen had no idea where she'd be spending the night. No one was home, making for an easy get away. She only had to worry about neighbors, but so far there seemed to be none on the prowl. Sometimes they just wouldn't mind there own business. ~ 

'Wow! It's already six! I can't believe I've been traveling for four hours now. Wish I knew where I was. Well I suppose it doesn't matter since it's all in the pursuit of happiness,' thought Gwendolyn. 

She'd just stopped at a drugstore to buy a Snapple to wash down the SlimJims she'd just eaten. Contemplating between raspberry iced tea and peach iced tea, it hit her. She needed a place to stay to night, so why not find the local mall, and stay until after closing? She would just need to find a good place to hide until security left. It could be done! 

'And it would probably be cool in there too!' she thought, well aware of the August heat she'd been walking through all day. 

And after five minutes, Gwen put down both iced tea Snapples and reached for a lemonade one instead. She also bought some antibacterial soap, bringing her money rations down to 62 dollars. 

'I've better be careful with this. This is how the money I've got,' she quietly reminded herself. 

She asked the drug-store cashier where she could find the nearest mall, and Gwen was quickly informed that it was about a mile North. 

'Perfect,' she thought, 'Only one more mile' ~ 

After about forty minutes, (she'd made a wrong turn and had to ask someone directions, adding fifteen minutes to the journey) she arrived at the mall. It was rather large, and once inside, Gwen started looking for good places to hide from the security once the mall closed. Ten minutes prior to mall closing, she decided to check out the ladies bathroom, which had already been cleaned for the night, and hid in a stall for the thirty most boring minutes of her life. Just as Gwen thought it would be safe to leave the bathroom and go to the Metabolife stand that looked oh-so-cozy to sleep in, a police woman swung the bathroom door open. She seemed to be running up and down the stalls checking for feet, and Gwen was luckily quick enough to jump on top the toilet as the guard appeared to have eaten too many donuts in her day, making her slow to bend. Five minutes later the light was out and the guard gone. Gwen decided to stay in the stall another ten minutes, just to be sure. Emerging from the ladies room into the darkened mall, which, Gwen thought, was a bit eerie, she made her way to the Metabolife booth between the D.E.B. shop and Structure. Both of these stores were barred up, making entrance impossible. Gwen was just starting to get cozy (she even had a little comment slot to see what lay in front of her.), she heard large heavy footsteps. Frozen to the spot, and not making a sound, she peered out the tiny slot in the booth. A tall, hooded figure appeared. 

'Oh, no, a thief!' was Gwen's first impression. 

But then the figure raised a large stick, and shouted some strange words and security cameras came crashing down from the ceiling, busting into pieces. And just as if the strange activity wasn't enough to petrify Gwen, another figure appeared out of thin air, this one was balding and short, and she noticed something unnatural about him. His right hand was gleaming silver. 

'It must be a fake hand' thought Gwen, but this theory was quickly demolished when she saw the flexibility of the hand. 

The balding man fell to the ground and said, "My Lord". 

Gwen was getting more freaked out as the seconds passed. She didn't regret leaving home, but she definitely regretted staying at the mall. She'd probably be safer in a trash can. 

'Maybe I fell asleep and I will wake up and this will all be a dream,' thought Gwen hopefully. 

But unfortunately it wasn't a dream, but how could it be reality? The hooded figure spoke....... ~ 

Chapter 2 - The Cube Stone of Past Reminiscing 

"Wormtail, did you bring it?" asked the hooded figure coldly. 

"Yes, my Lord , I have it right here," the man called Wormtail replied. Gwen would have thought this was a funny name, but being stuck in a Metabolife booth with two dangerous people around with a dangerous stick, she wasn't in the mood to joke around. The man opened his pouch to reveal a large, translucent cube, and extended it in his gleaming hand to the hooded man. 

"Ah, it's a good thing too. You don't know how hard it was to obtain this, the Cube Stone of Past Reminiscing. We wouldn't want to have any unforgivable curses performed tonight," the concealed figure said, his voice growing colder. 

"Yes, master, I know. That was an amazing fight you had with that dragon if I might say, having to cut open his stomach to get that, you know. And those Norway dragons are very rare. And -" 

The hooded figure interrupted, "Wormtail, enough. I know my feats are great, but I do not enjoy you wasting my precious time to suck-up. You know we need to get the last ingredient, then that boy will be mine! I will travel back in time with this stone fourteen years, and finish him off before all the trouble even starts. Then I will be in power from then on! And no one will be able to stop me! It would have been nice if I could have obtained one of those quick time-travelers from the Minister of Magic, which need no ingredients, but since I am not back to full power yet, we know there are restrictions on that. People, especially Dumbledore, are hot on my trail. My faithful servant is in Azkaban. A pity." 

"Yes, my Lord Voldemort," said Wormtail, who seemed to shutter at the name. 

"However, we may have trouble retrieving the last ingredient, since the instructions are so vague," the hooded man addressed as Lord Voldemort. Gwen listened carefully, although petrified. They were talking about time travel? And they needed one more thing. She stifled a cough, as she did not want to be found and blasted to smithereens with the large stick. 

"Yes, my Lord. We only need to mix it in a cauldron with -- " 

But once again he was interrupted, "WORMTAIL!! Do not speak of it here. We can not say too much, who knows what spys linger!" 

Did he know that Gwen was there? Apparently not, because he hadn't looked at the Metabolife booth once. Nevertheless, Gwen tried as hard as she could to stop the sound of her breathing. Then, the figure called Lord Voldemort lifted his large stick and pointed it at Wormtail. After saying a few strange words, Wormtail was on the ground squealing in pain. 

"Perhaps that will teach you not to let certain things slip," he said, with a tone in his voice which made it sound as if he enjoyed bringing excruciating pain to other people. Gwen shuddered silently. 

"I'm sorry Master," Wormtail cried in agony, as the results of the stick began to wear off. 

"We will go. I will keep after the cube stone," said Lord Voldemort. And with that, they vanished. 

Gwen, now officially freaked out, wanted more than anything to leave. Silent tears emerging from her eyes , she knew that all the doors were locked and there was no way out. In addition, what if the two murderous criminals (whatever they were up to) were still around? 

'I have to stay put,' she thought. She wanted to turn on the lights, but she knew she couldn't. All the same, her white skin was glowing brightly, and she sincerely hoped it would be enough to get her through the night. She eventually cried herself to sleep. ~ 

"Hey, what are you doing in my booth, you little hooligan?" a stickly little old man cried the next morning. 

'On no!,' thought Gwen, ' I must have fell asleep!' 

"I'm s-sorry s-sir, I-I will b-be going n-now." stammered Gwen, picking up her things. 

"No you won't! Who knows what you stole!," the old man said, "SECURITY!!!!" 

"No sir, I was just sleeping there, I didn't steal...." she started to say, but then began running, as the same fat female cop that was in the bathroom was jogging after her. With the same luck as the other night, she escaped the cop (who was breathing heavily after her workout) and hid in a tree. 

'Great now they probably think I'm a thief,' she thought. But she didn't care as the events of last night began to sink in. Maybe it was a dream. How could she have fell asleep with all that going on? But she knew this was wishful thinking. 

Being cautious, Gwen found places to stay during the rest of August. She was out of London now, and beginning a journey north. She didn't have any idea where she was headed, but it was bound to be better than at home, where she was treated so badly. Today, most of her bruises were healed, and she was so clean, as she'd taken a bath in a lake. Unfortunately, she was down to $45. ' Oh, well, it lasted longer than I expected it to...' she thought. But living off of stale donuts, bread and Snapple (one for every three days) wasn't exactly fun. ~ 

Chapter 3 - A Visit to Ron's 

Harry sat on his bedroom chair sometime nearing the middle of August. Ron was coming to pick him up today! The Dursleys were anxious to rid of him, after threats about Sirius Black. He wondered how they'd arrive, as he packed up all his things, excited to visit and start his fifth year soon. Hermione would be staying at Ron's too. She'd just got word that she was a prefect, but Harry knew that although she was a rule-lover, she'd be nothing like Ron's brother, Percy was. Harry supposed it would be nice to have a prefect for a friend to clue him in on all the official happenings. 

About an hour later, Harry was down stairs, waiting anxiously. The Dursleys had wanted to avoid being in the midst of a catastrophe and were hidden away upstairs. Clasping his trunk, or as close as you can get to clasping a heavy object, he waited by the door. Suddenly, out the fire place that theWeasleys destroyed last year, came Ron and Mr. Weasley. 

"Sorry Harry. We were running out of original ways to travel," said Ron. Harry laughed, although he felt a little apprehensive about using Floo Powder. 

"So where are the Muggles, Harry," asked Mr. Weasley curiously. 

"You remember last year right?" said Harry. 

"Yes." 

"I rest my case." 

Mr. Weasley looked slightly disappointed. "Oh. I wanted to ask them how the hospital system works. All those machines and all..." 

"Dad...." muttered Ron. 

"Right ought to get going. Got your stuff Harry?" asked Mr. Weasley. 

Harry pointed to his trunk, which Mr. Weasley lifted, and gave Harry some Floo powder. 

"Right now into the fire. You first Harry, then Ron, then I'll go last," said Mr. Weasley. And so it was. They all managed to land safely in the burrow, and were greeted by Hermione, who was already wearing her Prefect badge. "Er, congratulations..." said Harry, sick from the travels. 

"Huh? Oh this. Well thanks," Hermione replied. The three brought Harry's trunk up to Ron's room. 

"So, Ron, here anything about Voldemort? Did anyone catch him?" Harry was curious to know since he didn't have too many ties with the wizarding world at the Durleys. Ron hadn't really mentioned anything about it in his letters either. 

"No. He's still on the loose. And don't say that name. Slipped through the Ministry soooo many times this summer though," said Ron. 

"Barty Crouch is in Azkaban though. That's good news," said Hermione, matter-of-factly. 

"I'm sure the Dementors have him good!" said Ron. 

Harry's heart sank. He was hoping that Voldemort would have been destroyed. Wishful thinking, he thought, as Dumbledore most likely would have contacted him. Talking about their summers, ("My mother and father are very proud of the honor of my being a prefect.")("Mine are still shocked about Cedric Diggory.....he was a nice fellow...and ofcourse dad's still obsessed with the muggles.") ("My scar's been hurting a little here and there, but I think it's just because Voldemort's on the loose." "Don't say that name!!!!!") they all fell asleep. ~ 

When Harry woke the next morning, Hermione and Ron weren't in the room. Harry got dressed and went down to the kitchen were he found them, and had the most decent meal he'd had all summer. 

"Curious. How very curious," said Mr. Weasley, reading the Muggle paper while eating a bite of toast.Harry couldn't help himself. "What's curious?" 

"Another Muggle singing sensation has been murdered. The eighth one this week. Wouldn't you say that that's curious."And indeed it was, Harry thought. It was lucky that Harry, Hermione, and Ron couldn't sing, let alone be famous muggle singers...... p?The rest of the summer slipped by, and soon Harry found himself having a Pumpkin juice on the train back to Hogwarts. 'Would Voldemort be defeated this year?' Harry could only hope. 

Aphra's note: Well guys I hope u liked that. Find out what happens to Gwen in her travels....will Voldemort's plan work? What ingredient does he need? Keep watchin for part 2. 

Aphra's note: Yet another part to the incredibly stupid story and wait there's more. Yep, it get's incredibly stupider.....well read anyway and PLEASE review. 

Chapter 4- Starting the Fifth Year 

"Ugh," said Harry, looking out the train window, "gloomy day." And indeed he was right, the rain was pouring down vigorously, and it was very cloudy. 

"Yes, I know," replied Hermione., eating a Chocolate Frog. 

"How well. At least we have all the Cauldron Cakes we can eat," said Ron, biting into a particularly large one, "Yum." 

"Well I'm interested to see who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher will be. I wonder whether he'll last longer than the last few years," said Hermione, thoughtfully. 

"I dunno. Me and Harry dropped Divination. We're tired of dying," grinned Ron. 

"What are you taking instead?" asked Hermione. 

"I forget," said Ron. Hermione gave him a you-should-know-because-you-should-start-studying look. 

The next fifteen minutes were filled with silence, unless you count chewing and page turning. (Hermione was reading a book entitled, "Interesting Magical Creatures" by Yankee Gold) 

Neville Longbottom came in to say hello, asking if anyone had a spare quill, since he'd forgotten his. Harry saw him suddenly clamp up in fear and fall into a chair, and it was evident that Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, had arrived. 

"So. I see your still here," Malfoy looked disappointed, "I thought for sure that Lord Voldemort would have had you this summer." 

Harry didn't exactly know how to reply, so just said, "Er, shut up," and went pink. 

"Let's go Crabbe, Goyle. Wee baby Potter is going to cry so we'd better give him privacy." 

At this Harry got very red and went for his wand. Hermione stopped him from putting a curse on Malfoy, just as he was leaving. Neville gained enough courage to be able to leave the compartment and hop into his own. ("Er, thanks for the quill guys") 

Harry was still looking very and angry. 

"Don't let him get to you, Harry. He's a jerk," said Hermione, clutching her book. 

"You're right, Hermione. But he just gets me so mad," replied Harry, the redness beginning to drain from his face. And soon, the incident was forgotten. 

"So, what are you reading anyway Hermione?" Ron asked, "That title isn't on our required list....." 

"I know. I just thought I'd do a little extra backround reading for Advanced Care of Magical Creatures. It's very interesting. All kinds of magical creatures I didn't know about! There's Droxens -- those are kind of a mix between a rabbit and a clown except that there not human -- , angels, more on Hippogriffs and sooo much more. Very interesting," said Hermione, enthusiastically. 

"If you say so," griped Ron, finishing off the last Cauldron Cake. 

~ 

Harry was glancing out the window. For a split second, he saw a girl walking down the tracks glumly. She had long shimmery blondish hair. But that's all he could make out. 

"Guys did you see her?" asked Harry, confused. 

"See who?" asked Ron curiously., Hermione gleaming with interest 

"There was a girl back there walking along the tracks." 

"Really?" asked Ron, "It was probably a Muggle. They can walk there, but they're oblivious to the train. That's one probably just taking a stroll." Ron shrugged. 

The train reached Hogwarts about an hour later. The school went up to the Great Hall to watch the sorting ceremony. It was still raining dreadfully outside, as the ceiling of the Great Hall told them all. 

~

Chapter 5 - The Crumbling Old Castle 

Shivering, Gwen continued down the tracks. It'd been raining for hours and there was still no sign of it letting up. She wondered where she'd stay for the night, as she had no idea where the heck she was, and thought maybe the tracks would lead to a train station. It was nearing 10:00 p.m. and Gwen was growing very tired. The tracks seemed to go on forever. Looking for some place along the tracks that might provide some comfort from the storm, Gwen found a small cave. Hoping for the best, she walked into the shallow forest and into the cave. She let herself dry off, ate the last of her Toffee Cake and finished one of the three Snapples she bought that three days ago before journeying down the path. She was running low on food, not to mention money (35). Only three SlimJims3/4 a loaf of stale bread, and four stale donuts left. And there was definitely no place to stop and buy food along these lonesome tracks. She'd just have to get up the next morning and keep walking. 

Gwen woke up from a shallow sleep the next morning to find the rain had stopped. 

'Thank God,' she thought. 

She ate half of a stale chocolate donut for breakfast and started her way back up the tracks. Perhaps tonight she would spend the night in the train station, if she'd be lucky enough to find it. 

~

Later in the afternoon, a large, crumbling castle came into Gwen's vision as the end of the tracks near. 

'Maybe someone lives there, and will let me stay a few nights,' she thought hopefully. 

Walking towards it she passed a deserted old hut, a magnificent lake and finally was in front of the castle. A look of disappointment crossed Gwen's face as she saw the sign sticking out in front of the old castle. 

Warning: 

DANGER 

DO NOT ENTER 

'Well if it's dangerous there's probably no one there, and I've got nothing to lose so I might as well stay. After all, nothing scarier could happen than the incident at the mall,' Gwen decided. And with that she pried open a loose window, as the front doors were welted shut. 

Gwen was amazed. A vast, empty room lie before her, a bit dusty from age, she supposed, but nevertheless magnificent. After a bit of exploration, she left the great hall and started down a dusty old corridor, peering into all the empty interesting rooms. She wondered why it was so dangerous, as the sign suggested. After a while, she found a snug little room to stay in and put her stuff down. Little did she know that this was an empty classroom at Hogwarts. Hoping she'd remember where the room was, she left the room for further investigation. 

~

Harry was walking to Tranfiguration with Ron and Hermione when he saw a girl wondering around the hallways not noticing that she was tripping over random people. 

"Guys did you see her?" asked Harry curiously. 

"Yeah, Harry, it's just a Muggle. One gets into the school every so often, then usually after a few days, leaves. It's no big deal," replied Ron, ." 

"She can't see us, you know anyway, because there's a spell put on the castle so only the wizarding world can. All she'll see according to "Hogwarts, A History" is a crumbling old castle," said Hermione. 

"Oh," Harry replied. But he recognized the hair. She looked strangely like the one walking the tracks the other day. 

Hermione was skimming the "Daily Prophet" as they walked. 

"Strange. Ron, remember what your Dad said about the Muggle singing sensations? Two more have been mysteriously murdered yesterday. This reporter mentions it because she was fond of the music of one of the Muggle artists." 

"That is odd," replied Ron and Harry in unison 

~

One week later, 'the Muggle girl' still hadn't left, and the school faculty was getting concerned. 

"We can't have this little annoyance continuing to knock into people. I myself have been knocked over twice already," said Snape, his thin lip curving into a loathing frown. 

"Well what do you expect us to do? We'll just wait it out. I want no harm brought to anyone," said Dumbledore, firmly. 

"We'll just do what we did to the last one. Take the spell off her eyes, so the little rat will see Hogwarts, and put a Mermory Charm on her and send her on her way," Snape replied. 

Dumbledore sighed, "Very well." 

~

Gwen sitting in her room one night, eating her last SlimJim, suddenly became aware that her surroundings were changing. Dusty old desks seemed to appear out of no where. And she could here foot steps outside. Chewing nervously, she went to the door, and saw about fifty boys and girls in funny looking clothing (which looked oddly like robes) shuffling up and down the halls with books. She quickly hopped back into the old, abandoned classroom, with particularly panicky expression. 

'What is going on. All these thing weren't here a minute a go,' she thought, 'What should I do? Should I leave, or stay and find out what's going on?' 

But her silent question was quickly answered, as a sour looking person entered the room, greasy haired and hook nosed. 

~

Chapter 6 - The Strange 'Punishment' 

"W-who are you?" Gwen stammered nervously. 

"Professor Severus Snape. But it will soon be no matter to you since in a moment you will forget all of this." 

Before Gwen could ask anything else, Professor Severus Snape pulled out a long stick of his own and shouted: 

"Obliviate!!" A shining light bounced right off of Gwen. 

Gwen asked tensely, "W-what does Ovilliate mean? And how d-did everything suddenly j-just appear?" 

Snape had a questioning look on his face and said in shock, "It didn't work. Come with me young lady." 

Gwen didn't have time to argue, as Snape had his hand on the scruff of her neck and was carrying her along the now-lively corriders. He walked into a staff room which contained Professor McGonagall sitting in a chair. 

"I couldn't get the Memory Charm to work on this Muggle. Perhaps my wand needs checking. Minerva, please try the spell with yours?" explained Snape. 

Again the spell was cast, and again it failed. "Curious. She will see Dumbledore. Perhaps...no couldn't be." McGonagall and Snape walked,( more like carried), Gwen to the gargoyle together, and McGonagall said the password. (Lime Berry) The Gargoyle popped opened. Gwen tried hard to hide her fright. 

"Come in!" said Professor Dumbledore. 

"Headmaster, the Memory charm didn't work for either one of us on this Muggle," said Snape. Snape instructed Dumbledore to try it, and he did, still with no result whatsoever. 

"Well, Snape, I did tell you to leave her be," said Dumbledore. He turned to Gwen, who was looking a mix between petrified and confused. "I'm Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of this school. And you are?" 

"Er, Gwendolyn Stevenson." 

"What brings you here?" 

"W-well, sir, I thought this was abandoned and d-decided to stay f-for a while." 

"I see," Dumbledore replied, "Do you know why the Memory charm hasn't worked on you." 

"What's a memory charm?" 

"Evidently not, Professor...." Professor McGonagall replied for her. 

"Well in any case she must be diposed of her before she goes and blabs to the Muggle world that we exist," said Snape. 

Gwen wondered what he meant by "dispose." Thoughts of one of those sticks blasting her to death crossed through her mind, then thoughts of rotting in a prison cell. 

"I see no harm in just letting her go, but as I know the professors will disapprove of it, I'll put her in a dormitory until we figure out why the spell isn't working. Let's see, here's the Sorting Hat," said Dumbledore handing it to Gwen. 

"Er, what do I do with this?" asked Gwen, as she was instructed to put it on your head. The next second, the hat screamed "GRYFFINDOR", and in alarm, Gwen quickly threw it off of her head. 

"And since you won't be able to do magic, we'll put you in a Muggle Studies class, and you can pay for it by cleaning the Gryffindor tower," suggested Professor McGonagall, "We'll try the memory charm with another teacher next week I suppose 

"Very well, Minerva. I'll give her 5 galleons a week, too, just as a little spending money" said Dumbledore, " Give poor Dobby a break," he chuckled. Snape looked as though a child would if Santa didn't come, because he was looking forward to some action, preferably painful. Gwen wanted to ask what in the world a galleon was, but was having trouble speaking after seeing Snape's face. 

"Well, we need a student to show you where to go," said Dumbledore as he walked her down from the chamber and were just outside the gargoyle now. 

~

Harry was on his way back to the Gryffindor Tower from the bathroom. He was just passing the stone gargoyle. He heard Dumbledore call his name, he was explaining something to the Muggle girl he'd seen around and wondered whether he'd be the first person in the history of Hogwarts to get a detention for relieving himself. 

"Harry, this is Gwen. Play master to her for the year, she'll be staying and working in the Gryffindor Tower to pay for her Muggle studies lessons until we can find out why the memory charm hadn't worked on her...." said Dumbledore. 

Harry though quite confused, agreed. And Dumbledore left them..... Aphra's Note: Well that's done. Sorry if it was gay. Well anyway , stay tuned to find out why the Memory charm didn't work, if any more innocent people will be murdered, what Voldemort is up to....yaddayaddayadda. I appreciate any comments. Thanks Aphra's Note: Well here we go again. Anyway, I apologize for using dollars, but I am too stupid to have found out how much pound is to the dollar and yaddaddayadda. To confusing 4 my tiny brain. *LoLz* Oh yeah please excuse the thing about Barty Crouch in Azakaban I forgot, but It doesn't really have anything to do w/ the plot anyway, so please ignore it. Sorry this took so long my phone was dead for like ever and I couldn't connect to the 'net 

~ 

Chapter 7 -- The Magical World 

Gwen was still trying to figure out when she'd wake up in the small old room she stayed in as she and this strange boy were walking down the hall way. 

"Where exac-exactly am I, er --?" said Gwen, feeling stupid. She didn't exactly like the task of making acquaintances. It made her nervous. 

"Harry. Er, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Gwen's mouth dropped. A school for magic? A place filled with all those deadly wand things? 'Oh God,' she thought. 

"Oh........," she said finally. 

"So why're you here anyway?" asked Harry. Gwen told him the whole story, starting from running away to the last moment with Dumbledore, leaving out the unfriendly segment at the mall. 

"Oh I see you've met Snape," said Harry with a look of grimace on his face. 

"Well, he wasn't too, well,........nice" said Gwen nervously. 

"Oh, he just likes to scare people. I've had over four years experience with him," replied Harry, nearing the Gryffindor common room. 

She wondered whether all of this magical stuff had to do with the two characters at the mall, but decided not to mention it. She didn't know who she could trust. She couldn't even trust her own parents, "Tell me.....what is a galleon, sir?" 

As Harry finished explaining the wizarding currency, they'd reached the Fat Lady. "Why are we stopping here?" asked Gwen, curiously, looking at the a painting. The large lady began to move and she jumped back, slightly startled as it wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened all day. 

"This is the Gryffindor common room," answered Harry. 

"Password?" 

"SpiffyCakes," said Harry, "Remember that, Gwen. You need it to get in here. 

As Gwen put that in the back of her mind she entered the common room. It was so amazing, what they kept hidden behind that picture. A vast room with many plushy chairs, lion banners everywhere, and two staircases on either side. A tall red-headed boy came to greet Harry. 

"Oh good, you're here. I need you to help me figure out this......who's that?" asked the red-headed boy. 

"This is Gwen, she's a muggle," explained Harry, telling Ron what had happened. 

"Yeah Dumbledore said I get to be in charge of her," said Harry. 

"mmph" grumbled Gwen. She didn't leave home to have more people bossing her around. 

"Calm down I'm kidding sorta, I'm not a control-freak ........" 

"And the Memory Charm didn't work? Odd," said Ron. 

"Yeah I know," replied Harry, "by the way how is Hermione?" 

"She's a little upset. Tita Wills, the muggle singer, was just murdered. I think Hermione liked her music as a little girl," Ron said, looking over at her. Hermione was reading a newspaper. The three approached her, Gwen a little more reluctantly than the others, as some people were staring at her. Before Hermione could ask who Gwen was, Harry explained. 

"Oh, well," started Hermione kindly, " you can stay in the fifth year dormitory if you'd like. There's a coupla extra beds." 

Gwen agreed, and started up the winding staircase after Hermione. Hermione pointed to an empty four-poster bed and Gwen happily took it, as she was tired. It was interesting how the beds had privacy curtains, she thought. It was hard to fall asleep, even though she was very worn-out, but she finally did. 

~ 

Hermione woke up at seven o'clock in the morning, anxious to get down to breakfast and begin classes. She shook Parvati and Lavender, as she did every morning, so they could join them for breakfast. Once again, the two girls rolled over in their beds with a snort and fell fast asleep again. Then she went over to shake Gwen. 

"Huh?What's going on? Is Nannan here yet?" she said, sleepily, for a second forgetting where she was. She'd remember the instant she saw Hermione. 

"It's time for breakfast, and I imagine the your Muggle Studies class is soon." 

"Oh," Gwen replied. She wasn't too eager to get up, but she did. She didn't have robes to dress in, so she took out a pair of khakis and a red tank top and put that on. 

"I suppose I shall have these washed today....," Gwen said, pointing at her clothes. 

"No need to wait," said Hermione, grabbing her wand and aiming it on the clothing. "Purate!" 

"Wow!" said Gwen, blinking twice, "Wish I could do that." 

"Don't worry about it. I'll zap your clothes anytime you want." 

~ 

Hermione and Gwen met Harry and Ron in the common room. The four walked out of the portrait hole, and down the corridor into the Great Hall for breakfast. Gwen thought the ceiling was really cool. It was bright cheery blue with wispy clouds. When they sat down, they were given course schedules. Gwen's had "Advanced Muggle Studies" 8:30 a.m. on it. 

"Oh, look," started Hermione, "we are starting double Defense Against the Dark Arts today! It's first! At nine o'clock!" 

"Wonder who the teacher'll be. He wasn't at the feast at the beginning of the year," Ron offered to the conversation, scooping a big helping of eggs onto his plate. 

"I guess it doesn't matter as long as it's not Snape," said Harry. 

Ron coughed, "Or Lockhart." Hermione blushed. 

"Er, where exactly am I supposed to go for this class?" asked Gwen five minutes later, finishing her plate. 

"Come on, we'll show you," said Harry getting up, "it's a half an hour before our class so we have time." 

Just as they were getting up, Draco Malfoy came over to "greet" them along with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. 

"Hey, who's that you're hanging out with now Potter? Another loser friend?" said Malfoy. 

"Er," started Harry, but Malfoy interrupted him. 

" What are you wearing, new girl? That's horrible!" he said, and a grin spread across his face , " Hey your a complete muggle, aren't you?! That's worse than a mudblood!" 

"A muggle?" said Gwen confused, "I don't really understand what you mean by that." 

"Potter, you're pathetic," said Malfoy, spitting in Harry's face , "first mudblood born wizards. Now just plain -muggles-? You're pathetic!" 

"It's none of your business Malfoy!" shouted Harry, but Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were walking away snickering. Trying not to let Malfoy get to him, Harry, Ron, and Hermione led Gwen to her Muggle studies class and left her there to start their way to their Dark Arts class. 

~ 

Gwen entered a room full of what she supposed were wizards and witches. They were all staring at her, perhaps because of the fact that her clothes didn't blend in with everyone else's. 

"Ah, Miss...?" said a man that Gwen didn't recognize. 

"Er, Stevenson," she replied quietly. 

"Yes, please take a seat over there," he said, also seemingly astounded by her appearance, pointing to an empty seat next to a beefy-looking witch, "Class will begin in five minutes time." He walked out of the room. 

Gwendolyn quickly made her way to her seat, hoping to avoid eye contact with anyone. Sometimes people made her nervous, especially witches and wizards. 

The thickset witch on Gwen's side raised a plump hand and said "Hiya. I'm Sierra Bisque. I think I've seen you around the Gryffindor tower last night. I'm a fourth year." She had a slight lisp to her voice. People from the Slytherin house were snickering, 

"Shut-up, fat rump, no one cares, not even the muggle" said a homely-looking Slytherin girl. Gwen wondered how they knew she was the thing called a muggle. They couldn't just know by looking at her could they? Sierra slumped her big head, embarrassed and degraded, exposing an extra chin. "Yeah, beware of the killer hind end!" said a Slytherin boy, who was rather good-looking. 

"Um," started Gwen not knowing exactly what to say, "I don't think your fat," she lied. 

This made Sierra look slightly more pleased, and said, "Are you really a muggle?" Gwen gave a confuzzled look as Sierra explained what a muggle was. 

"Well then, I guess I'm a muggle. I'm Gwendolyn," she said. 

"It's nice meeting you," Sierra said with a stupid little smile that made even more people laugh. 

"That's only because she has no other friends," said the same Slytherin girl who had commented earlier. But they were interrupted as the man walked back in the room. 

"Ah, welcome to fourth and fifth year Advanced Muggle Studies," the man started, "I don't fancy that any of you know me. I'm new, I am Professor Cetus Somerset," he said as he was trying to tame the boisterous hair puff-ball that lie on his head, "This course requires vigorous training. It's not the simple basic 'How to use a lightbulb' anymore. Nope, this year you will get deeply involved in learning advanced muggle mathematics and sciences, and much more. It's very interesting, you see, muggles spend there lives learning this, and it's not that important to us. Today we will start with a simple algebra problem. Algebra is a type of mathematics that muggles use to find the unknown variable. A variable is represented with a letter. So," he said, writing y + 18 = 25 down for the class to see, " the letter y is the variable in this case. You will need to find what plus 18 equals 25. It's simple really, it's like saying 25-18. It's really just a matter of critical thinking using a Y. Anyone know?" He said this all in a squeaky (thought not necessarily high), fast voice. He wore a very huge, annoying smile in addition. 

'This is so stupid!' thought Gwen, 'I learned this two years ago.' People began to slowly raise their hands, and Gwen decided to too. 

"Ah, you Miss Stevenson," said Professor Somerset, his tiny nose pointing to her directly parallel to his finger. 

"y=7?" answered Gwen. 

"Remarkable. You even knew that you needed to say 'y='" And the rest of the class went on like this. The homework was to complete 15 of questions similar to the examples, and Gwen was rather happy, as that would be an easy task. 

"Oh no!" said Sierra getting up at the end of the class, "Why is there y's and x's and stuff? I don't really understand!" 

"I'll, uh, help you with it later, I already had this," said Gwen. 

"Great! What's your next class?" asked Sierra. 

"I don't really have a next class, I think I'm supposed to go clean the common room......" said Gwen feeling stupid. "Oh, well I guess I'll see you later then." And Gwen made her way to the common room with much difficulty. She'd even met Peeves the Poltergeist. She found quickly that he wasn't very nice. 

~ Chapter 8- The Return 

Meanwhile..... 

Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way to the Defense against the Dark Arts room. They were a little early, as they'd showed Gwen the way to her class and went directly to theirs. They walked inside and Harry gasped. 

"Professor Lupin!" he said excited, "You're back?" 

"Yes, Harry, apparently, parents were sending Professor Dumbledore owls asking me to come back for some reason. So Professor Dumbledore sent me an owl. He didn't have anyone else to teach, so I was delighted to return. I just hope that some of the Slytherins....." said Lupin. 

"Well they can't do anything about it can they?" asked Hermione. 

"Some parents might send owls for me -not- to teach," replied Lupin, "But I'm hoping I can stay here a little longer this time." 

"Yeah us too," said Harry, especially relieved that the new teacher wasn't Snape. 

"What are we learning about today?" asked Hermione anxiously. 

"I was thinking about doing a lesson on werewolfs and the potion, to explain to the class exactly what I am," Lupin said. 

Students began filing into the classroom, gasping at the sight of Professor Lupin. Finally Harry, Ron, and Hermione took their seats in the front of the room. Most of the Gryffindors looked happy, but the Slytherins, especially Malfoy, seemed very annoyed. 

Before Lupin could even begin to speak, Malfoy stood up from his seat and shouted, " Hey, you're not allowed to be here, you stupid werewolf. If my parents knew about this...." Harry wanted to punch Draco. They all knew very well that Lupin was one of the best teachers in the school. 

Professor Lupin looked only slightly dejected, "Mr. Malfoy, that will be quite enough. I can assure you I have every right to be here. I would like to thank some of your parents for sending Professor Dumbledore owls so that I could continue teaching here." The students looked confuzzled, but this was quickly ignored as he began speaking again, "Speaking of werewolfs, I'd actually like to take this class as an opportunity to explain my condition." And so he did. He did everything from telling them everything about the potion that he had to take every month that made him a harmless wolf to showing them specific lunar calenders. Everyone, with the exception of a few Slytherins, was very interested, especially when Lupin demonstrated how the boggart turned into a moon when he saw it. The moon crumbled at a simple spell word. Soon the class was over, and no homework was given since it was only the first class. Hermione looked slightly disappointed, but Ron was wearing a smile. 

"That was interesting," said Harry as they excited. 

"Yeah," said Ron, "But I'm glad it's lunch. I'm rather hungry." As Harry's and Hermione's stomachs both agreed, they walked down to the Great Hall together. The ceiling was a perky shade of blue mixed with bright, light-hearted yellow. 

~ 

Gwen finished orienting with the mopping prospect of her 'occupation' (which she would have had to do at home anyway.....), when she realized that it was time for lunch. She started putting away the cleaning supplies when Sierra Bisque noisily walked into the common room. This was sort of a relief, since Gwen was sure she'd get lost on the way to the Great Hall. 

Sierra awkwardly floundered over to Gwen with the same stupid smile as earlier, "Gwen, will you walk to lunch with me?" 

"Er.....yeah." 

"Oh, this will be so exciting," said Sierra, quite overwhelmed, "see, it's rare that people want to walk with me." 

"Can't imagine why," fibbed Gwen. Although it was mean, she could think of a few reasons why. 

Gwen and Sierra made their way to the portrait hole. Gwen got out first, followed by Sierra, who kind of fell out rather than climbed. They made their way down the empty corridor on their way to the Great Hall, not really speaking, but with Sierra smiling half-wittedly. Gwen tried her hardest to familiarize herself with the route. It was most certainly difficult, with all the lefts, rights, etc. Finally the pair reached the Great Hall. Several people, mostly Slytherins, skidded by, muttering mean, yet inaudible, comments. Sierra put her head down, "I have to go through with this everyday," she said, lisping. Gwen tried to put on her face what she hoped looked sympathetic, as they travelled to the Gryffindor table. She recognized Harry and his friends and went to sit with them; Sierra did so also. 

Harry recognized Sierra, but he'd never spoken to her, as he was a fifth year and Sierra a fourth. Also, he hadn't seen her too much in the common room. 

"Hello Gwen and.......er...." he said trying to be friendly. 

Sierra quickly found her stupid smile and put it on, as if nothing pleased her more than being addressed, "Sierra, Sierra Bisque. I know who you are of course, Harry Potter." 

"This is Hermoine and Ron.Well, nice to meet y...." but Harry was interrupted by Sierra, " Oh I'm ever so pleased to meet you, imagine, four people speaking friendly to me in the same day. This is such a treat." Ron wanted to ask Gwen what exactly she'd brought to the table; she still had that dumb grin upon her husky face, and it grew even bigger when the food started appearing 

Well, more food piled onto the table; even though she'd seen food appear out of thin air that morning, Gwen was still shocked. 

~ 

Chapter 9 -- As of now, un-named, kinda sorta heheheh 

A few days passed, and Gwen was starting to get used to everything by now. As she'd been doing, Friday morning she got up with Hermione and walked down to breakfast with the boys, and of course, Sierra trailing with them, the smile slightly dimming everyday. She was becoming a little more tolerable, as she also started talking about things that didn't have to do with her confidence problem. Sierra also gave Malfoy something new to taunt Harry about, which is always a complete bonus.{ :-) } 

As the five seated themselves at the table, the owls came tumbling in to bring the morning mail. A letter from a small tree owl (? there is such a thing as a tree owl rite? O_o) dropped in front of Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Harry reached for in, as he was closest to it, as began to open it. 

Harry, turning to Hermione and Ron said, "It says Hagrid wants us to visit him for tea this afternoon. I can't believe we haven't been to his cabin yet outside of class!" 

"Okay. We'll go to DefenseATDA and then visit him. Does that work for you?" asked Hermione. 

"Yeah," said Ron. Gwen wanted to know what they were talking about, so feeling awkward, she asked, "Excuse me,Harry,sir, um.......what is a hagrid?" 

"Oh. He's our friend. Didn't you see an oversized man walking around yet?" replied Harry. Gwen nodded. She had seen him walking around once or twice, but had never talked to him. 

"You can come and meet him if you want," suggested Harry, "you can come too, Sierra," he added quickly as she was listening. Both girls agreed. 

Gwen went off to her Muggle Studies class with Sierra, and Harry, Ron and Hermione went to their DADA class. 

When they got to Lupin's classroom, there were people already seated anxiously awaiting the lesson. The last few lessons were really interesting, for example, they learned a little about vampires and Lupin even had one come in to visit. A few minutes later, class started. 

"Good morning everyone. Today I thought we'd learn about Droxens," said Lupin. Hermione wanted to say, 'I knew that book would come in handy', but she would never want to disturb class for something like that. 

"Now a Droxen is a witch or wizard who is born with a strange disorder. They look like clowns with rabbit ears. They possess special powerful magic especially useful against the Dark Arts. Now the thing about them is that they will almost never use it, because they have gentle characteristics about them. Some go throughout their lives without ever using it, even if it is Dark magic that is making them miserable. Does anyone know how to tell a Droxen from a natural witch or wizard?" 

Ofcourse, Hermione hand shot up, and she was called on, "Its almost impossible to tell because they put a spell on themselves to look like a regular person. They can only use one human image though, so they can change only between that image and a Droxen." 

"Correct, Miss Granger." 

And Professor Lupin went on to give them a little bit of homework on the subject, and soon the class was over. 

Harry, Ron, and Hermione met Gwen and Sierra and they went off to Hagrid's hut. Aphra's note: Sorry if that was a little slow........um I like suggestions if anyone has time to fill out the box. Thanx 


End file.
